Today is Vakkom Moulavi’s 151st Birth Anniversary Vakkom Moulavi (1873–1932), a visionary social reformer and intellectual from Kerala, engaged deeply with both local and global issues during the early twentieth…
Manmohan Singh, a prominent figure in Indian economic and political history, is remembered for a legacy that evokes both admiration and reflects deep contradictions. As the architect of India’s economic…
Sri Narayana Guru’s all-religious conference was a groundbreaking intervention that reimagined the essence of religion, moving beyond mere tolerance, said noted social critic Sunil P. Elayidam. He was delivering the…
Boris Kagarlitsky, the imprisoned Russian sociologist and prominent leftist voice, has long been known for his incisive critiques of the state and firm support for social movements. On November 14,…
The creative mind that was V.C. Harris has long since become a ‘text’—an enduring narrative fused into the cultural and intellectual history of Kerala. It is rare, in any age,…
BRP Bhaskar, a distinguished journalist known for his unwavering dedication to truth and justice over a remarkable seven-decade career, was commemorated at a web-meeting organized by the Vakkom Moulavi Memorial…
There is little doubt that the Indian democracy is facing multiple challenges today. On the eve of the 75th year of its independence, this might be a critical question for…
The economic and political turmoil in Sri Lanka has turned worse with the people’s protests assuming violent bouts, snowballing across the island nation. Predictably, the ruling Rajapaksa family has…
Reports of women joining far-right movements have vexed many feminist scholars across the world. Their presence in neo-fascist neo-Nazi movements raised many questions insofar as such movements tend to denigrate…
by Sabin Iqbal and K.M. Seethi A few years back, an analysis that appeared in the Harvard Business Review showed that women were grossly underrepresented in the media across the…
Debating on religion, culture, and nationalism is a challenging task in contemporary times. Given the multifarious dimensions of issues related to religion and nationalism, this has become extremely complex today,…
The defining feature of a democracy is the right of its citizens to question the government on its actions. But the moment this right is denied or under challenge—for…
“History begins in a barbarism of sense and ends in a barbarism of reflection,” says Italian Philosopher Giambattista Vico. Vico claimed that men ‘make’ their own history, and his claim…
Do social and political movements in India have a future despite the challenges posed by the regime in power? This is a critical question often raised by scholars and political…
The caste system in India has long been considered as “the most resilient and adaptive system of inequality and oppression ever invented, the most inhuman too, even excluding sections of…
Desert travel writing tends to evoke feelings of excitement, enthusiasm and surprises. In an article in The Times Literary Supplement, Caroline Eden wrote that deserts “offer a cultural and geographical…
Does fascism indicate the institutionalization of a particular form of majoritarian bigotry or does the correctness of that characterization hinge on particular violent outcomes? Should all real fascism result…
Hunger and poverty are so intertwined that reports concerning one have implications for the other, and a palpable common factor is food security. The release of the Global Hunger Index…
In an increasingly convoluted world of religions and cultures, it is imperative to develop and foster social harmony so as to meet the challenges posed by diversity. Recognizing religious diversity…
With the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in place, is there an optimistic scenario of a nuclear-weapon free world? This might certainly be a difficult but persistently…
You would have gone to the forest 100 times, but could spot a tiger only once. But, be rest assured, the tiger would have spotted you 99 times. In the…
Do the vision and policies of the current political dispensation in India foster the most widely accepted principles of federalism and sustain an effective and healthy relationship between the centre…
“India is fundamentally a hierarchical, violent and inequalitarian society and its image is spreading like a stain when the Dalits and Muslims are being treated on par in terms…
“The higher education in India is poised for colossal changes with deleterious outcomes under the 'surveillance capitalism,'” according to G. Arunima, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Director of Kerala…
SEW-L Inaugural Address Can historians avoid anachronism in their narratives of the past? This has been a major question in the debates of/in historiography, and noted historian Prof. Rajan…
There has been a proliferation of literature on women, including women’s history across the world. Yet, women remain mostly invisible or misrepresented in mainstream history. They are either not present…
Written by K.M. Seethi & Elizabeth Abraham The social landscape and livelihood options in the tribal habitats in Kerala have changed tremendously in the last several decades. This transformation has…
Fears of a military takeover in Myanmar came true in the early hours of 1 February when the powerful army resorted to a series of measures which included detention of…
“Even as the surge in COVID-19 cases has sent ominous signals across districts in Kerala, the state and civil society should have shown utmost vigilance in the direction of…
With Joe Biden’s assumption of office as 46th President of the United States, there are expectations of a ‘liberal internationalist’ foreign policy set to emerge from Washington. However, the new…
“Secularism in India faces manifold challenges that require multilevel interventions to make it socially relevant and sustainable,” according to Irfan Engineer, noted Human Rights activist and Director, Centre for the…
My life is not in vain, my friend, when I sing for you. My song is not in vain, my friend, when you hum along with it. Writing on…
In less than a few weeks since the celebrated Argentine filmmaker Fernando Ezequiel Solanas—a legendary figure in Latin American cinema—died of coronavirus in Paris, another internationally admired filmmaker, Kim Ki-Duk,…
Writing on the feats and flaws of modern science way back in 1951, humanist writer and literary genius M. Govindan (1919-1989) brought in the story of al-Hameed—a landlord in Hyderabad…
The gruesome murder of a French school teacher in a Paris suburb on Friday is yet another pointer to the spirit of Jihadi Islam being conjured up by the young…
When once for my fellowmen I shed a drop of tear, The hale of a thousand suns Arises in my soul When once for my fellowmen I expend a hearty…
“No one should be alone in their old age,” Santiago, the protagonist in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea reflects in despair. Fisherman Santiago’s sorrows speak volumes about…
The deep state in Pakistan is no more a mere conglomerate of civil bureaucracy, army, intelligence, and/or other administrative agencies. The ‘state within the state’ has also its predictable partners…
With the Covid-19 proliferation taking on a dreadful speed, humanity is in the throes of an unprecedented breakdown. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) seems to have the armoury to legitimate…
A major international agreement banning violence and harassment in the workplace has been adopted by the International Labour Organization’s Centenary Conference in Geneva. This has been hailed by UN Secretary-General…
“Chernobyl”—the five-part miniseries—has created sensation across the world, with a record number of viewers. It was screened on HBO and Sky Atlantic in May-June, and the last episode was on…
Is the world economy poised to enter the phase of what the Dutch trend-watcher Adjiedj Bakas called ‘Slowbalisation’? The trend forecasts say that the world will soon witness another spell…
The ultra-Right BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) resounding victory in the 17th Lok Sabha elections in India has surprised many, even within the NDA alliance because of the unexpected…
The Persian Gulf region has become a veritable powder keg with the United States taking a more aggressive position on Iran, while Saudi Arabia, UAE and other regional powers keep…
Sri Lanka does not seem to have returned to its normal conditions even after six days’ of the Easter-day carnage. Panic still grew and fears of unexpected attacks were haunting…
The day of ‘Resurrection’ became a black Sunday for hundreds in Colombo who gathered in Churches for Easter prayers. Many in nearby hotels, including several foreign nationals, also fell victim…
Sustaining a democratic system through periodic free and fair elections is one of the most critical political challenges the world has witnessed. Across countries, people have run the risk of…
The air strikes in Balakot, Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, by the Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jets set in motion waves of jubilation in India and a deluge of…
For many in the South Block (and several diplomats who served in the West Asia/Gulf region in the past), India’s emergence as ‘Guest of Honour’ at the Organisation of Islamic…
Many treaties and agreements in international relations are the natural outcome of conflicts and wars between two or more players. In India-Pakistan relations too, the two major agreements signed between…
The terror attack on the CRPF convoy in Pulwama (Jammu and Kashmir), which killed dozens of soldiers of the paramilitary forces, sent shock waves across the country and the world. …
The Unites States withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty (1987) and the subsequent Russian decision to quit the regime generated considerable fears and anxieties across the world about…
As expected, the announcement of the national awards for 2019 again brought forth a storm of controversy in India. This time it has drawn special attention due to the fiddly…
Even as the general elections are round the corner, the Narendra Modi Government makes it a point to use religion and culture as effective tools to sustain itself in…
Kerala still appears to have been languished in a self-imposed prison of hartals in spite of all efforts to terminate the snowballing menace of social disruption and public nuisance caused…
Problems of Engaging Modernity and the Muslim Reform Movement in Kerala.... This article is written in commemoration of the 145th anniversary (28 December) of Vakkom Moulavi who played a major role…
The discipline of International Relations (IR) has lost another outstanding scholar—Robert W. Cox (1926-2018)—who made a mark in its intellectual history in the last century, like Samir Amin. Canada-born…
Sri Lanka has landed itself in an unexpected, unprecedented crisis with the President Maithripala Sirisena taking decisions having tricky political implications. Citing differences over a host of issues, Sirisena cast…
The strategic turn-around in India-Russia relations is all too obvious with New Delhi getting closer to Moscow in recent years. The joint statement issued after the 19thAnnual Indo-Russian Summit…
US President Donald Trump has been speaking with hyperbole, over the last several months, that his ‘trade war’ with China, tough bargains with the European Union as well as the…
Join Countercurrents Annual Fund Raising Campaign and help us